Plug-and-Play Radar Altimeters for Easy UAV Autopilot Integration
As the UAV market continues to grow at a rapid rate, the type of UAV systems, both commercially and recreationally, continues to evolve. With this rapid evolution comes the need for easy-to-use on-board sensors with quick integration into public, open-source autopilot software. A few of the open-source autopilot software used by commercial and recreational UAV pilots are PX4 and ArduPilot. These autopilots provide safe and efficient flight control capabilities to pilots while also allowing for easy integration of additional on-board sensors. There are numerous sensors that can be integrated into these autopilot systems, including GPS, rangefinders, cameras, etc. To allow for universal accessibility, one of the desired aspects of these on-board sensors is the capability to be seamlessly and effortlessly integrated into the UAV’s flight controller. Through this seamless integration, users will be able to modify only a few parameters and, within minutes, operate their UAV with these additional sensors.
As mentioned, rangefinders are one of the most common UAV additions that users implement to further enhance the capabilities of their aircraft. One common type of rangefinder is a radar-based sensor. Ainstein’s US-D1 is a reliable and easy-to-use radar altimeter, with more than 30,000 units sold worldwide across more than 40 countries. One of the strongest aspects of the US-D1 is its seamless plug-and-play capability with open-source autopilots. Through both the serial and CAN ports of these flight controllers, the US-D1 can be easily set up and connected for operation within the UAV system. More specifically, in PX4, the US-D1 has a driver via the serial port, while in ArduPilot, the US-D1 has specific drivers via both the CAN and serial ports. Through minimal parameter changes, the autopilot software can be modified to allow for US-D1 integration into their system. Below is an example of the US-D1’s integration through ArduPilot’s parameter tree via the serial port:
- SERIAL4_PROTOCOL = 9 (Lidar)
- SERIAL4_BAUD = 115 (115200 baud)
- RNGFND1_TYPE = 11 (USD1-Serial)
- RNGFND1_MIN = 0.5
- RNGFND1_MAX = 45
- RNGFND1_GNDCLR = 0.1
As seen in the above instructions, the US-D1 does not require many modifications within the autopilot system to be integrated into the aircraft. Along with the specific drivers mentioned previously, Ainstein recently enhanced the US-D1 in 2025, allowing for DroneCAN implementation. DroneCAN is an open CAN protocol used for communication between CAN peripherals with open communication across multiple implementations. Through this radar enhancement, all CAN-based US-D1 altimeters are capable of switching between the CAN and DroneCAN interfaces through a simple software change. This DroneCAN enhancement allows for the US-D1 to be connected to any autopilot that contains a CAN port and is capable of implementing DroneCAN rangefinders into its system.
Along with the US-D1’s seamless plug-and-play capabilities, Ainstein’s US-D1 Pro and LR-D1 are also capable of autopilot integration. The US-D1 Pro comes readily available with the DroneCAN interface, and the LR-D1 has a specific driver within ArduPilot, allowing for integration via the serial port.
Plug-and-play capability has become one of the most important considerations for users when selecting a UAV platform. Ainstein’s radar altimeters and soon-to-be-released obstacle avoidance radars simplify that decision by offering seamless integration with flight control systems while enhancing the overall safety of the aircraft through reliable performance.
Please see all of the Ainstein autopilot integration guides below:
